


Goro Akechi's Summer Vacation

by knightemperor



Series: Shuake Week 2020 [4]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Camping, Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Canon, Shuake Week 2020, day 4 vacations, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:41:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27635597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/knightemperor/pseuds/knightemperor
Summary: Goro has been overworking and Akira and Sae aren't having it any more. Akira drags his boyfriend out to the wilderness, where they will attempt to camp outside together. Goro's vacation has begun whether he likes it or not.
Relationships: Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Series: Shuake Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2017106
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	Goro Akechi's Summer Vacation

Every day was the same. Akira would wake up to find Goro gone, he would go to college alone, and he would come back to an empty house. He would eat breakfast alone and then head to bed alone. Finally Goro would come home, eat leftovers and crawl into bed.

Akira decided something needed to change. He understood Goro was a student and working a full time job. It was something they discussed a long time ago. But every time Akira woke up and saw the spot next to him empty, he was reminded of when Goro disappeared back when he was in high school. The loneliness was unbearable. The creeping doubt of whether he was good enough came crawling back to him. It ate away at his thoughts, plaguing him. What if he was being a terrible boyfriend and that was the real reason Goro was never home? Had he finally realized what a terrible person Akira was and started keeping his distance? 

Akira knew his thoughts were wholly irrational yet they persisted. He needed to do something, for himself and for Goro. He pulled out his phone and psyched himself up to make the call. He dialed Sae's number. 

"Hello, Kurusu? What can I do for you?" Sae picked up on the second ring.

"Has Goro been looking overworked to you?" Akira asked. 

"Yes… It's starting to be a problem. He's been coming to the office lately looking like he did back then. Tired, brushing off any concern and not eating lunch." She sighed. "Honestly, I'm glad you contacted me. I’ve been getting worried for his well being. How is he at home?”

“Hardly here. I can only catch him a little at night and even then, it’s not much. I end up falling asleep before he does. I’ve been worried for him and it’s been a little draining on me to never have him around.”

“I see.” Sae said. The line was silent for a second before she spoke again. “Perhaps an intervention is needed.” 

“I agree,” Akira said. “Do you think you could get some time off for him to go on vacation?”

“I’ll see what I can do.” Her voice softened. “He really needs a break. That kid is working himself too hard again. I hoped living with you and dating you would help him, but old habits die hard I guess.”

“Yeah,” Akira sighed. It was something they needed to work on. He planned to confront Goro about it at some point, thus the phone call. “Let me know what you work out,” he told Sae.

“I will,” She replied. They hung up and Akira took a deep breath. Morgana sat next to him, making sure everything was alright. 

“I’ll be ok, thanks Mona,” He said. The cat curled up next to him, offering his presence. Akira gladly took it. He was not looking forward to future confrontation. 

\-------

A couple days later, Sae called back and told Akira she was able to get Goro approved for a vacation. As it turned out, he hadn’t used any of his vacation days, so it was easy for her to get that approval. Goro, however, was not happy about any of this. 

“Why is she doing this behind my back?” He demanded shortly after discovering his vacation days. “I can make my own decisions with my career, so why is she treating me like a child?”

“I was the one who asked her,” Akira confessed. “I wanted to spend more time with you. You haven’t been around lately and I’ve been getting lonely.”

Goro’s face immediately softened. “Akira… I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…” He pulled the man into a hug. “I’ve just been wanting to do what I can to support you. I never meant to push you away.”

Akira gripped Goro tightly and buried his face into the man’s neck. “I’m sorry too. I should have talked to you before planning something like this.” 

“It’s ok,” Goro said. “However, I would appreciate it if next time, you came to me. You know how I am with people making decisions for me.” 

Akira nodded. Goro just sighed and pet his hair. “It’s true I did need a vacation. Where were you planning on going?”

Akira pulled away and looked at him. “You’re not mad at me?”

“Oh no, I’m still mad you did all this behind my back.” He grabbed Akira’s face and gave him a pleasant smile that promised retribution later. “But you’ll just have to make it up to me.” 

Akira nodded as best as he could. “I’m thinking of going up to the mountains? Camping and hiking?” 

Goro released Akira from his death grip and thought for a second. “That does sound nice. Getting away from people for a while and enjoying nature…” 

“Right? And we won’t have to think about work or school, Sae said she got you a break when we both don’t have classes. Morgana can stay with Futaba so it can just be the two of us.”

“Alright, we can go. But I’d like to warn you, I’ve never been camping before. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind!” Akira hugged the man. “I’m just really glad to be spending time with you.” 

“I’m sorry I’ve been so distant lately,” Goro said, almost a whisper. “I love you Akira. If I ever do this again, please tell me. I don’t want you to blame yourself.”

He just nodded in response. Really, Goro knew him too well. He had already gotten a ticket for the blame train and was headed straight for it’s-all-my-fault-ville. He was glad they could understand each other and that this didn’t result in a large fight. He wasn’t sure if he could handle that. 

They spent the rest of the night cuddling together and hashing out plans. Akira was determined to make this the best vacation ever, and Goro agreed. They both wanted to make up for their mistakes. 

\-------

Monday morning shone brightly through the windows and slapped Akira right in the face. He groaned and moved away from the light. His body ran into something warm and he couldn’t help but wrap his arms around it. He nuzzled his face into soft skin. Wait. His eyes burst open again and he whipped his head up. Goro was laying there next to him. The man gave him a smug smile. 

“Good morning, beautiful,” Goro said. Akira felt his face nearly split in two with how wide he was smiling.

“Good morning, Goro.” Akira hugged the man tight and gave him a kiss. Goro chuckled and kissed him back. Akira’s heart was soaring. It was so simple but he had missed mornings like this. Goro’s school and work schedule was always such a mess, he never had any time to wake up with Akira, even on the weekends. 

“We need to get up and get dressed. Our train leaves in a couple hours and we still need to finish packing.” Goro said. Akira groaned and buried his face in Goro’s chest.

“Don’t wanna,” He whined. 

“Oh, so you don’t want to go on vacation with your boyfriend?”

Akira looked up at Goro and pouted. “You’re so mean~” 

“And you’re a baby.” He poked Akira’s cheek. “I’ll finish packing if you make breakfast. Does that sound ok?”

He nodded and reluctantly rolled off the brunette. They got dressed and Akira started cooking. He kept replaying seeing Goro in bed, right when they woke up. It made him so happy. To think he’d be spending the rest of the week like that… He giggled to himself. Goro appeared behind him and gave him a kiss on the neck. 

“Goro, I’m cooking.” He batted the man away. 

“I can tell. It smells great.” Goro paid no mind and continued abusing Akira’s neck. 

“We’ll be in public on the train, stop that.” He bonked Goro’s head. 

“Fine, fine.” He released his hold on Akira and headed to the table, where he patiently waited. With Goro successfully kicked out, Akira finished breakfast and served them. It was another very simple thing that just made Akira emotional. When was the last time they had breakfast? Both of them had been prone to skipping, Goro being too busy to eat and Akira waking up too late to eat. Breakfast was a rare occasion but a welcome one. 

“I requested fewer hours at the office,” Goro announced. Akira looked up, shocked. “I realized how unhealthy my work habits have been. It’s been taking a toll on both of us, hasn’t it?” 

Akira slowly nodded. He didn’t want Goro to know just how much it had affected him. He was afraid of guilt tripping him. “Are you sure? Work is important.” 

“Not as important as you and not as important as my own health. Sae’s right, I’m going to be working myself to an early grave. This day has barely started and I can feel how much I needed it. And besides, I want to make mornings like this normal, not just a special occasion.” 

Akira felt his eyes begin to sting. He quickly wiped at his face. He couldn’t let Goro see him like this, it was embarrassing. He heard Goro’s chair move. “No! No, it’s ok. I’m just really happy you feel the same as I do.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to realize.” Goro said. 

“No more of that.” Akira sniffed and opened his eyes again. “We’re just going to be having a good time, with no more apologizing. No more feeling guilty.”

Goro slowly nodded. Well, they’d have to work on that. They finished eating and started gathering their things. Their heart to heart took a while, so now they were running a little late. But it would be ok. They could make it in time and have a fantastic trip.

They managed to make it to the station right as the train was about to leave. They found a pair of seats and flopped in them. 

“We made it…” Akira said, still breathing heavily. 

“Barely.” Goro said. He hugged onto his bag and looked at Akira. “You need more exercise.”

Akira poked Goro in the side. “So do you. When was the last time you went bouldering?” 

He grimaced. “It’s been a while. I’ve really been ignoring a lot of my hobbies…”

“Maybe we can go to the gym sometime?” Akira asked. He looked up over the top of his glasses, trying to look as cute as possible. 

“Haha, of course we can,” Goro laughed. “You don’t need to give me the puppy eyes for that.”

“Rude, I’m a catboy, not a dogboy.” He stuck his tongue out. Goro just rolled his eyes and ruffled Akira’s hair. 

The scenery changed from urban landscape to rice fields and mountains, and a few hours later they arrived at their stop. Goro and Akira stepped outside to the roaring sounds of summer. Somehow, the countryside was even louder than Tokyo. 

“So then, off to the mountain?” Goro asked. He pulled out his phone to look at the map. His smile froze on his face.

“What’s wrong?”

“No service.” He turned his phone over to Akira. There were no bars at all. Akira pulled out his own phone to find the same horrible fate. 

“Well shit,” He eloquently stated. “We can get a map from the visitor center, right?” 

Goro sighed and nodded. Now they’d just need to find where the visitor center was. They had chosen a small town near the mountain, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Unfortunately, their plan for peace and quiet seemed to backfire on them. Luckily, it was a small enough town where they didn’t have a hard time navigating. Akira thought back to his first day in Tokyo and the nightmare that was finding his way around. 

They grabbed a map and Goro grabbed some water bottles. “We can never be too prepared,” he had said as he stocked up. After their quick detour, the pair made their way up the mountain. 

\------

Akira may have underestimated how exhausting hiking would be. The summer heat was oppressive. The humidity made him feel like he was breathing water. It had only been about 15 minutes but it felt like they had been walking for hours. The ground kept sloping up and up. Each step just seemed to drain him. 

“How much further do we have?” Akira wheezed out. Goro turned around. He didn’t look like he was faring much better, if the sweat pouring off of him was any indicator. 

“We can take a break if you’d like.” He pointedly avoided answering the question. Akira groaned and nodded. They collapsed together on a log. Goro immediately opened one of his water bottles and chugged it. Akira leaned back, falling off the log. “Are you ok?” Goro asked, nearly choking on his water. 

“I’m fine. Just leave me here.” Akira said, not even bothering to move. 

“You’re such a drama queen. Remember, you were the one who suggested hiking.”

“I know and I am filled with regret.”

They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the sounds of the forest around them. It wasn’t too thick, and there was a nice hiking path available to them, so the chances of them getting lost were pretty slim. It still held the possibility of adventure, which excited Akira. Getting lost in the forest, having to rough it. It was a childhood fantasy of his and he remembered running off as a kid. He figured Goro would not share his enthusiasm though, so for his sake he did not disappear into the trees. Goro’s sake and his own common sense. He knew he would probably die if he actually tried surviving on his own. But it was fun to imagine.

“Ok, let’s get walking again, shall we?” Goro asked. Akira groaned again. “I’ll leave you here.”

“I’m getting up! I’m getting up!” Akira waved his arms frantically in the air. Goro helped him get back to standing position, he took a gulp of water and they headed off again. 

After what felt like several more hours of walking, and a few more breaks, they came across a clearing. It had a small area for a campfire and looked like it had been used not too long ago. 

“Here we are,” Goro said. Akira looked over his shoulder at the map. They had made it to their destination. “Why don’t we go ahead and set up camp?” 

Akira nodded and set his bag down. They pulled out the tent and stood there looking at it. 

“Akira, you know how to set up a tent right?” Goro said, eying him.

“Uh, I learned back in school but I haven’t had to really use tent skills.” 

“You can just say no.”

“Alright then. No, I don’t know how.” 

Goro facepalmed. It looked like they would have to figure this out together. 

“Don’t worry, I got this,” Akira said. He remembered a few things like needing to stake the poles into the ground. He grabbed the tent and began to place things how he thought they should go. A snapping noise filled the air and suddenly pain blossomed across his face. 

“Akira, are you ok?” Goro was by his side in less than a second. He felt the man’s hands on his face and closed his eyes. 

“I’m fine,” Akira said. “I think the tent won tho. It got a clean knockout on me.” 

Goro sighed and chuckled. “As long as you’re ok. Let’s try together this time.” Akira readjusted his glasses and nodded. This time the tent attacked Goro. 

“Hey, we match,” Akira said pointing to the red mark on Goro’s face. His boyfriend gave him a withering look. They tried one more time and managed to finally get it. It was a little wonky, but it was standing and that’s all that mattered. 

“Alright, lunch time. I got this, so you can go ahead and sit back,” Akira said, grinning. He brought some curry with him and all they would have to do is heat it up. He reached into his bag for his lighter.

“Hey, Goro…” He spoke up a minute later. “Did you pack a lighter?” 

“I thought you packed the lighter,” Goro said, looking up from the book he had brought. 

“Nope,” he replied, popping the p. “Welp. Do you know how to start a fire?”

“Only in theory. I’m not sure how good a teacher books are.” The brunette came over and looked around. “We’ll need some rocks and something flammable. I’m going to try and make a spark with the rocks and create a fire that way.” 

They searched around and managed to find some grasses and a couple rocks that might work. Goro sat down and struck them together. He repeated this again and again. After about the twentieth try, Akira spoke up. “Do you think this’ll work?” 

“Just give me a few more tries.” About 10 minutes later, and a lot of stubborn determination, Goro finally managed to get a small fire going. Emphasis on small. 

“Don’t worry, I got it from here,” Akira said, carefully fanning the flame. 

“You know, it’s funny. I thought since you were the country boy, you’d know everything about camping,” Goro said, sitting down next to him. 

“Yeah, uh about that. My parents aren’t exactly the outdoorsy types and the most I’ve done is just class trips. We learned stuff there but I really don’t remember much.” He frowned. 

Goro just laughed. “No, it’s ok. It’s kind of nice to know I’m not the only one lacking knowledge here.”

Akira managed to get the fire to a nice size and then started cooking the curry. “It’s mild, right?” His boyfriend asked, eying the pot worriedly. 

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t do that to you, as funny as it would be.” Goro glared at him. He just grinned. “The takoyaki incident was pretty hilarious.”

His comment was met with a shove. He shoved Goro back. They pushed each other around, laughing. A burning smell filled the air, interrupting their roughhousing. 

“Oh shit, the curry!” Akira quickly took the pot off the fire. He opened the lid to find it pretty badly burnt. “Cooking directly over a fire is different from the kitchen,” he noted. 

“It’ll be alright. We can still eat it,” Goro said, examining the crime scene. “It’s only really burnt where it was touching the pot.” 

He was right, it was still edible. It didn’t taste as good as Akira hoped, but it would have to do. After their meal, they rested for a bit and then decided to go on a short walk. Goro pointed out a nice place for photos, determined to get something nice of them. Akira agreed and they headed out. 

Thankfully, this walk was not nearly as grueling as their initial hike in, and they were able to reach their destination in only 10 minutes. The forest opened up to a cliff overlooking the valley below. The town they arrived in lay at the foot of the mountain and the fields flowed beside them. Clouds rested at the neighboring peaks and the sun slowly dipped lower into the sky. It was breathtaking. 

They rested there for a bit, just taking in the sight. Goro’s phone might not have had service, but the camera worked fine. He filled his camera roll with pictures of the mountains, himself and Akira. They walked a bit more along the cliffside, finding more nice places to get pictures and laughed as Akira made silly poses. 

However, the clouds that once were looking so pretty, started becoming darker and darker.

“The weather said it was only a 30% chance of rain, right?” Goro asked, looking up worriedly. 

“That’s what I read,” Akira said. They made their way back to their campsite, but weren’t fast enough. The rain started pouring down. And it came down hard. The pair were pelted and quickly became soaked. They crawled into their tent, water falling everywhere. 

“Well,” Akira said, drying his hair. “At least, I’m not dying of heat anymore?” 

Goro rolled his eyes, changing into dry clothes. He threw his soaked clothes into a sopping wet pile in the corner of the tent. “I suppose there’s always an upside.” 

“I brought cards. Up for a game of speed?” Akira held up a pack he pulled out of his bag.

“You’ll regret challenging me,” his boyfriend replied. They grinned at each other, feeling their rivalry roaring to life. 

\------

The rain stopped pouring after a few hours. They had gotten bored of speed and moved on to other card games. Goro had quite the knowledge of games and introduced Akira to a few he didn’t know. Of course, that meant he lost a few games, which he wasn’t happy about. 

Feeling the rain let up, the two poked their heads out of the tent. The clouds were starting to drift away and Akira saw stars starting to shine through the darkness. 

“Hey, Goro,” he said, still gazing up at the sky. “I’m sorry this ended up being such a disaster. I just wanted us to do something nice together, but more things went wrong than right.”

“It wasn’t a disaster,” Goro replied. He placed his hand over Akira’s. “It was a wonderful break. I’m not focused on work at all and instead I’m here enjoying my time with you. Sure, things didn’t go as planned, but did you really think things would go smoothly knowing us?”

Akira snorted. He thought back to all the crazy things they had been through throughout the past few years. Hell, even a god tried to get in their way and Akira showed him what he thought about that. Things really never did go as expected, did they? 

“I guess you’re right. I got so worked up about making things perfect. But you know what? I think this is pretty perfect, having you here by my side.” He turned and met his boyfriend’s gaze. 

“I feel the same,” Goro said. “Thank you, Akira.”

They closed the distance between them and kissed, the stars shining above. They watched over the lovers as their worries faded into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> They headed home after this and spent the rest of their vacation at home watching featherman reruns. 
> 
> This was honestly kind of rushed and I'm not sure how to feel about it, but I hope you all enjoy!


End file.
